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Was Jesus Always God?

Christianity proclaims that the trinity (father, son, and Holy Spirit) is the godhead 3 in 1. They are not separate gods, not separate deities. Most other religions deny Jesus’ deity. They may claim He is a good man, a great prophet, but won’t come to confess that He is God without the Holy Spirit you can’t. 1 Corinthians 12:1-3(HCSB) Now concerning what comes from the Spirit: brothers, I do not want you to be unaware. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you used to be led off to the idols that could not speak. 3 Therefore I am informing you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

John 1:1(HCSB)In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.He was with God in the beginning.3 All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.

Genesis 1:26-28(HCSB)26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl[i] on the earth.”27 So God created man in His own image;He created him in the image of God;He created them male and female. 28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”

There is a lot of evidence of Jesus being God. All throughout Scriptures, and even from the mouth of Jesus Himself, it is stated that He is God. Jesus says He and the Father are one. When did Jesus know that He was God? From the heavenly perspective, the Son knew from eternity past who He was and what His earthly work was to be. From the earthly perspective, the incarnate Jesus came to that realization at some point early in life. Just when that point was, we cannot know for sure.

John 10:30-33(HCSB) The Father and I are one.”31 Again the Jews picked up rocks to stone Him. 32 Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. Which of these works are you stoning Me for?” 33“We aren’t stoning You for a good work,” the Jews answered, “but for blasphemy, because You—being a man—make Yourself God.”

Colossians 2:8-10(HCSB) Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elemental forces of the world, and not based on Christ. 9 For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ, 10 and you have been filled by Him, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

John 1:14(HCSB)The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory,the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus was always God. From eternity past He has been the second Person of the Trinity, and He always will be. The question of when the human Jesus knew that He was God is interesting, but it is not addressed in Scripture. We know that, as an adult, Jesus fully realized who He was, expressing it this way: John 8:58(HCSB) Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Before Abraham was, I am.”. And when He prayed, John 17:5(ESV) “Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began”

As a child, Jesus was already aware of His nature and work. When Jesus was twelve years old, his family went to Jerusalem. On their way back, they were concerned about Jesus’ being missing from their caravan. They returned to Jerusalem and found Jesus Luke 2:41-52(HCSB)41 Every year His parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. 42 When He was 12 years old, they went up according to the custom of the festival. 43 After those days were over, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but His parents did not know it. 44 Assuming He was in the traveling party, they went a day’s journey. Then they began looking for Him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for Him. 46 After three days, they found Him in the temple complex sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all those who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers. 48 When His parents saw Him, they were astonished, and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for You.” 49 “Why were you searching for Me?” He asked them. “Didn’t you know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what He said to them. 51 Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them. His mother kept all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.Whatever those around Him did not grasp, it seems that Jesus, at a very young age, did know that He was the Son of God and that the Father had foreordained the work He was to do.

After the incident in the temple, Luke says, Luke 2:52(HCSB)52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people. Wisdom is the skillful use of knowledge. Jesus grew in the skillful use of knowledge. If at this point in Jesus’ human experience He knew everything, He would not need to “grow in wisdom.” We emphasize that this was Jesus’ human experience. Jesus never ceased being God, but in some matters He veiled His divinity in accordance with the Father’s will. Thus, the Son subjected Himself to physical, intellectual, social, and spiritual growth.We do not know if he always knew he was divine, even in the womb, or if he realized it later on. Each position has its difficulties. After all, Jesus was made under the Law.

Galatians 4:4(HCSB)4 When the time came to completion, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, and he cooperated with the limitations of being a man.

Philippians 2:5-8(HCSB)5 Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus,6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage.7 Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, 8 He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross. Does this require that he also did not know who he was at birth? Not at all. Did the divine nature go “dormant” when Jesus was a baby? The divine nature requires that he knows all things. However, we see in the Gospels that Jesus, for example, did not know the day nor the hour of his return.Matthew 24:36-44(HCSB)36 “Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son[q] —except the Father only. 37 As the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 38 For in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah boarded the ark. 39 They didn’t know until the flood came and swept them all away. So this is the way the coming of the Son of Man will be: 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this: If the homeowner had known what time[t] the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into. 44 This is why you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. It seems in this case he is cooperating with the limitations of being a man since he was made under the law, but this does not mean he did not know who he was in his divinity.

Since the Scriptures do not give us enough information to answer the question, we cannot say when Jesus came to know that he was God in flesh. So, we should not try and answer the question since we could end up in error.